


Red and Gold

by Sfseven



Series: Stories of Caiden [5]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:53:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sfseven/pseuds/Sfseven
Summary: After an attempted assassination that resulted in Nicole losing control, Nicole decides to get answers about the history of red wolves.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught
Series: Stories of Caiden [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016338
Comments: 14
Kudos: 105





	1. Assassins

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! My continuation of the Stories of Caiden as promised. I know this chapter is super short, but I promise that it's the shortest chapter in the whole story.
> 
> I'm posting this today because I don't want to post it after the premier because I'm sure people will be posting stories related to that. I also decided to not post it tomorrow because I'll be posting the penultimate chapter of my other story, 'Facing The Past', tomorrow. I'm not sure what my schedule for posting this story will be yet, but it will definitely be at least weekly. Probably twice a week. I'll have a better idea when I post the next chapter next week.

Nicole wasn’t sure what woke her up. She slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. It was still pitch-black outside. The only light in the room coming from the fireplace. Waverly was in her arms, sound asleep. Nicole ran her hand down the brunette’s torso before resting on the omega’s stomach. They had just found out a couple weeks ago that the brunette was pregnant again, but her stomach was still flat. Nicole inhaled her mate’s scent. There was nothing out of the ordinary there, but Nicole could still feel that something was wrong. She knew she had woken for a reason.

The alpha slowly extricated herself from Waverly’s body and got out of the bed. She turned back to her wife to make sure that she was still asleep. When she was sure the brunette was still resting, she stood up and tried to figure out what was wrong. She took a deep breath and inhaled all the scents surrounding her trying to pick out any that didn’t fit. _Fire. Normal. Lavender. Normal. Stone. Normal. Horse. Normal. Chrissy. Normal. Pups. Normal. Wait!_ There were unusual scents around. Other wolves but none that she recognized. While she didn’t know each individual soldier or servant in the castle these scents didn’t smell like the castle at all. They smelled a lot like the woods. Again, not an unusual scent for the castle as a whole, but it was unusual for someone spending a large amount of time in the woods to be in this part of the castle. That’s when she realized there was another scent starting to come through. Blood.

Nicole immediately rushed out of her room and over to the neighboring nursery. She quickly entered the room and saw, to her horror, a man standing over her daughter’s bed with a bloody knife in his hand.

“Hey!” Nicole roared. The man turned around. He was wearing a mask but she could see his eyes. They were filled with determination and confidence, but she could see the hint of fear as well. That was also when she noticed that he wasn’t alone. There were two more alongside him, one had a sword and the other a bow. Her shout had also woken the twins.

“Mommy?” Her three-year-old daughter whispered, clearly afraid.

“It’s okay, Moonbeam. These men are just going to back away.”

“More likely that we’ll slit her throat.” The man with the dagger growled out. Nicole felt her sight turning gold. The voices were back. She hadn’t heard them since the night she had killed Willa. She guessed the man could see that something was different because his confidence quickly slipped, replaced by complete terror. She lunged at him and ripped his throat out before quickly turning to the man with the sword. She heard the door burst open and quickly glanced to see her own guards. For some reason that didn’t calm the voices down. She turned her attention back to the swordsman. He slashed out at her but she easily deflected the blow. He continued to try and fight her backing up slowly while lashing out, but she continued to be unaffected. It wasn’t until his back hit the wall that she finally grabbed him by the face and smashed his head in. His blood and pieces of his brain exploded on her face. She then turned around to see the man with the bow being arrested by the soldiers, but the voices wouldn’t dissipate. They kept screaming at her that the pups were still in danger. She growled at the guards and started to stalk over. They all froze and turned to her. Fear in their eyes.

“Your majesty? Everything is okay now. The twins are safe.” One tried to reason with her, but the gold hue persisted. She lunged towards them when suddenly—

“Nicole!” She heard Waverly call out. The alpha turned towards her mate and saw the omega in the doorway. The brunette was tense and on edge. Her eyes wide with fear. But for the first time since Nicole had gained her trust, the fear was directed at her. Waverly was scared of her. “Nicole?” Waverly repeated more quietly. Nicole started to feel more in control. The gold hue started to fade. Her limbs went heavy and a great pain in her stomach started. She fell to the ground and curled in on herself.

“Argh!” Nicole screamed in pain. Waverly immediately ran over. She pulled the redhead’s face up and brushed the hair out of her face.

“Nicole? What’s wrong?”

“It hurts!” Nicole gasped out.

“You two carry her to our bed. You go get Jeremy.” Waverly ordered the remaining soldiers. They immediately got to work. Nicole moaned in pain as they lifted her up, but Waverly’s hand in hers calmed her down. They carried the redhead over to the bed where the twins were already sitting, but trembling in fear. The soldiers gently lowered the alpha onto the bed.

“Mommy?” Winnie asked.

“Mommy’s going to be fine. She just needs some rest.” Waverly quickly tried to calm the pups down while she pulled the covers over her mate.

“Mommy was scary. Her eyes were weird.” That was the last thing Nicole heard before she collapsed from pain and exhaustion.


	2. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly finds out more information about what happened, and her and Nedley have an important conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed 04x07 because I definitely did. Except, what is up with Jeremy not being around when everything goes completely nuts? First Jolene and then Cupid.
> 
> Anyways, I decided to post this story on Mondays and Wednesdays. I still want to leave Fridays for the show.

Waverly watched as Nicole fell unconscious on their bed, the twins sitting on the other side trembling. She walked around to them and sat down. They immediately climbed in her lap and held on tightly.

“I know, my loves. I’m sorry you had to see that. But mommy made sure we were safe.” Waverly comforted the pups, giving each kisses as she rubbed their backs.

“Mommy was scary, Mama.” Nate mumbled into her neck.

“I’m sorry you both saw Mommy like that.”

“Her eyes were weird,” Winnie cried.

“Weird?”

“They were yellow.” That worried Waverly. She was hoping the golden gleam she had seen in Nicole’s eyes had been a trick of the light. She remembered that Nicole had told her that when she killed Willa her sight had added a golden hue. Her alpha had also said that she felt like she had little control over her actions at the time. Both were grateful that whatever this power was had saved Nicole from certain death, but it also scared them. Waverly had wanted to do a little research but Caiden had needed to be rebuilt and then the twins had been born. She had managed to read some things, but hadn’t been able to really delve into anything of real depth. She wasn’t sure what to tell her pups, but, luckily, she didn’t have to. The door burst open and three people stumbled through. Jeremy was first, his box of tonics in his arms, followed by Chrissy and then General Nedley.

“Is everyone okay?” The General asked first.

“Chrissy could you take the twins into the other room for a minute?”

“No Mama!” Nate and Winnie shouted, clinging to her more tightly.

“I know, my loves. But I need to talk to Jeremy and General Nedley. Chrissy will make sure you’re safe.” Waverly felt so conflicted. She didn’t want to leave her pups, but she knew she needed to talk to the General about how the castle was breached, and to Jeremy about Nicole’s pain and her golden eyes. “You two love Chrissy, right? You trust her.” Winnie gave a little nod while Nate didn’t react.

“Mommy needs you two to do this for her. You two are brave pups of royal blood. You can do this for Mommy, right?” Winnie looked up with determination in her eyes. The brunette knew that saying it was to help Nicole would make Winnie more willing. Nate was going to be a bit more difficult. “Nate?” She whispered while stroking his hair.

“I don’t wanna.” The little boy shook his head.

“I know, sweetheart. But you need to be Mommy and Mama’s brave little sunshine now. Can you do that?” He raised his head at the familiar nickname. She knew he was still reluctant, but she saw him slowly changing his mind.

“Alright, Mama.” Waverly let out a sigh of relief and turned to Chrissy. The blond gave her a sympathetic smile and reached down to lift the two children out of her lap. Nate held onto her nightgown a second longer than his sister, but he eventually let it go.

“I’ll keep them safe. I promise.” Chrissy tried to reassure her.

“I know, take a few guards just in case.” The blond nodded in response and left the room. Waverly took a deep shaky breath before turning back to the two men. Jeremy was already checking out Nicole while Nedley paced next to the bed.

“What happened?” Jeremy asked.

“Her eyes went gold again. I think she completely lost control. When she finally regained her senses, she crumpled down in pain.”

“Did she say or indicate any part of her body that might have been the source?”

“She was grasping her stomach.” Jeremy lifted the redhead’s nightgown to check the area. Nedley swiftly turned around, Waverly thought she saw a blush on his face.

“It’s her wound,” Jeremy muttered. Waverly looked at Nicole’s stomach and saw the scar caused by Wynonna’s sword was red and slightly inflamed.

“Will she be okay?” The brunette was starting to panic. That wound had nearly killed her, now it was causing problems again.

“It should be. She’ll be tired and sore for a little while, but as long as she relaxes, she’ll be okay.”

“Thank God.” Waverly leaned down and kissed her love’s forehead, not minding the blood leftover. “I’m going to get a washcloth to clean her off.” Jeremy nodded as he got a jar out of his box.

“That’s fine. I’m just gonna put this pain reliever on her wound.” Waverly nodded as she stood up. She went to the bathroom and soaked a cloth from the small tub they left filled in there. When she got back Jeremy had pulled Nicole’s nightgown back down and pulled the covers up. Waverly went to her wife’s side and started cleaning her face and chest.

“Waverly?” The brunette looked up and saw Nedley looking at her expectantly. “Do you know what happened?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. I woke up after hearing something, realized that Nicole wasn’t in bed. At first, I thought she went in the bathroom or something, but then I heard what sounded like fighting coming from the nursery. I ran over and saw guards running in the room. There was a man in there and the twins were crying on their beds. A dead man was on the floor, it looked like his throat had been cut, and Nicole was stalking towards another man. I grabbed the twins and ran out of there. I was trying to calm them down in our room, but I could feel something was really wrong with Nicole. I decided to go back and check, I found her growling at the guards as she stalked towards them. It looked like she was going to kill them. I called out to her and she turned to me. For a split second it looked like she didn’t recognize me. Her eyes were gold and just full of rage. But then there was a flicker of her in there, so I said her name again. The gold dissipated and Nicole was back. Then she fell down in pain. I asked guards to help me get her in here and to get Jeremy and here we are. Do you know how they got in the castle?”

“Not completely. There was a dead guard at the East entrance. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found more.”

“Who?”

“James Parker. He was new. I shouldn’t have put him by himself yet.” Nedley obviously looked guilty for the young man’s death.

“Randy…”

“No, Waverly. My job is the security of this castle. This lands on me.” Waverly knew better than to try and convince him otherwise, at least not now.

“Anyone else?”

“Natalie is dead.” Waverly’s eyes widened at the news. Natalie was the twin’s governess. They didn’t rely on her to watch the twins by herself often, but when neither of them could be there she was the one who watched them. She also slept in the nursery with the pups, making sure to be there in case they needed anything in the middle of the night.

“How?”

“They slit her throat in her bed. I think she was awake just long enough for the blow, her head wasn’t even off the pillow but her eyes were open.”

“Shit.” Waverly thought about what might have happened if the assassins hadn’t decided to kill the young woman first. Her babies could have died tonight. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she let out a soft gasp. Her hand went straight to her stomach, instinctually protecting the young life inside her.

“Are you okay? The baby?” Jeremy knelt down in front of her, taking her hand in his and searching her face for signs of distress.

“The baby?” Nedley questioned.

“The baby’s fine,” Waverly ignored the older man. “I just thought about how close I was to losing the twins.”

“Okay, but if you feel any pain let me know. Any bleeding either. There was a lot of excitement tonight and I want to be cautious.”

“I understand, thank you.” Jeremy searched her face for a few more moments before he started packing up his stuff.

“Remember, she needs to rest. I know how much she hates that, but if anyone can keep her put it’s you.”

“I’ll try,” Waverly gave a sad chuckle as she looked at her unconscious wife. Jeremy looked at the two of them one last time before leaving the room.

“So… baby?” Nedley finally spoke.

“Yes, baby.” The brunette smiled at him. “We found out a couple weeks ago. We weren’t planning on telling anyone yet, so if you could keep it to yourself…”

“Of course. I would never dream of betraying your trust.” The General gave a small bow with his hand over his heart.

“Thank you, Nedley. I know I can rely on you.” They were silent for another minute while Waverly finished washing the blood off of Nicole’s body.

“Waverly?” She looked back up to the man, he looked uncomfortable and nervous. “She almost killed a bunch of my men today, you said it yourself.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I can’t watch her turn into her father.”

“You won’t have to. It’s not the same.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know!” She shouted at him. He took a step back and had a look of surprise on his face. “I’m sorry, Nedley. But I know. This isn’t the same.”

“I hope you’re right. Because I’ve heard Nicole say plenty of times that she’d rather be dead than be like him. I would never forgive myself, but I will follow through with her wishes should the need arise.” Waverly didn’t reply. She didn’t want to. She had heard Nicole say the same thing herself, but the very thought made her want to vomit. And she knew if the need _did_ arise, she wouldn’t be able to do it.

“The third man, he survived?” The brunette finally asked. She wanted to move on from the topic of killing her wife.

“Yes, we have him in custody now.”

“You need to find out who hired him, or at least everything he knows.”

“I understand.” Nedley bowed and went to leave the room.

“General?” He turned back around at his Queen’s voice. “Send Chrissy back in with the twins please. I need them with me.” The man nodded and left the room. Waverly finished washing her wife and put the rag back in the bucket of water. She then sat down on the bed next to her wife and ran her fingers though the red locks that she loved so much, hoping that tonight’s events wouldn’t be a sign of things to come.


	3. Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly find out who wants their family dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to put the Wynaught tag in this. Which is ridiculous because their BroTP is an important thing in later chapters.
> 
> I also hadn't finished the last chapter when I started posting this. But while I was finishing it, it took a turn I wasn't planning on. So I'm going to be changing the rating of this story to Explicit. I'm sure many of you can guess why...

It had been a couple weeks since the attempt on the royal family. Nicole had hated every second of it. The first day the twins had been scared of her. Actually scared to the point where they didn’t want to sit next to her. Waverly had calmed them down and by the second day they were only wary of her, and a few days after that they were finally comfortable enough to be left alone with her. Not that that happened often. Waverly was there most of the time, and if her wife wasn’t there then Chrissy was. Every time Waverly had to leave she looked pained, but the brunette was the one basically ruling the kingdom now. She absolutely forbid any soldier from telling the alpha anything about the goings on of the kingdom. The redhead wasn’t allowed to make any decisions and was banned from leaving the room. She tried once and there were actually soldiers at her door that stopped her from leaving. Not even threat of punishment convinced them to move aside, being far more scared of Waverly’s wrath. Her wife didn’t keep her completely in the dark. She knew what exactly happened that night and that there was a survivor being interrogated. Waverly kept her privy to the improvements to security she had made and the fact that she had sent emergency letters to Wynonna, Doc, and Dolls. Wynonna had returned within two days after the letter had been sent, Doc returned a week and a half later, and Dolls was still on his way. The elder Earp sister had rushed through the gates and demanded to see her family. She had found the four of them in their bedroom and immediately let out a sigh of relief before hugging all of them. Doc had had a similar reaction, just without the hugging.

Waverly and Nicole were sitting on their bed, playing with the twins now. The pups had never left their sides since that night. They weren’t comfortable doing that until they knew who was out to get them. There was a sharp knock at the door.

“Enter!” Nicole called out. Nedley entered the room with Wynonna, Doc, and Chrissy following him. All of them being there instantly worried her. Something must have happened. She felt Waverly take her hand and could feel her omega’s nervous energy in the back of her mind.

“What happened?” Waverly asked. Chrissy smiled and walked towards the family.

“Why don’t I take the twins to the other room?” The blond offered. Nicole tightened her hold on the little boy in her lap. The idea of him and his sister not being in her sight made her uncomfortable.

“Mommy?” The redhaired monarch looked down at her son. He looked nervous, almost scared. She didn’t want him to be frightened, and she knew the vibes she was giving off would not help that. Something important must have happened, something she needed to know, and her pups couldn’t be here when she found out what it was. She let out a deep sigh before relaxing her arms.

“It’s okay, sunshine. Chrissy is just going to play with you and your sister in the other room.” Her son still looked warry, but he nodded his agreement. The blond woman picked up the two pups and left the room. Once the door closed, she turned to the other people still standing there. “What happened?” She repeated her wife’s question.

“The assassin finally talked.” Her ears pricked at the information General Nedley had just provided her.

“And I’m guessing from your faces that he knew something.”

“He did. He knew who hired them.” Nedley turned to Doc, almost expecting the other man to continue. But Doc just lowered his hat further over his eyes.

“Are you going to tell me who it is? Or are all of you just going to stand there?”

“It was Franklin James.” Nedley finally spoke. The tension in the air rose immediately. Nicole felt her whole body tighten with anger.

“Hardy James’s father?” Nicole growled. 

“Yes.” Nicole stood up and started pacing. She wanted to punch something badly, but she knew that was a bad idea. She had just recovered from her old wound, and she didn’t want to make Waverly worry about what she might do. Everyone gave her plenty of space. They understood why she was mad, and they knew they wouldn’t be able to calm her down. Everyone except one. As Nicole paced back towards the bed, she suddenly felt a pair of hands cup her cheeks. She looked up and saw hazel eyes staring back at her.

“I know,” Waverly whispered. “I know.” Her wife pulled her into an embrace. Nicole’s head went straight to the crook of the brunette’s neck, inhaling her scent and using it to calm down. After a minute, Nicole pulled back and turned to face the others in the room.

“Where is he?” The redhead demanded.

“We don’t know,” Doc replied. “After you took his castle and lands from him, he disappeared. We don’t have any information on his whereabouts.” Another wave of anger washed over her, but she pushed it down.

“I need you to find him,” she turned to her sister-in-law. “I want your people on this, Wynonna. The whole Troop.”

“I figured as much. I’ll go get my people started.”

“When you find him, you bring him back alive. I want to talk to him.”

“I figured you’d say that too.” Wynonna left without so much as a bow, not that Nicole was expecting one.

“Doc, I want you with Wynonna on this. I don’t want him crossing any borders, and any additional manpower would probably be welcome.”

“Understood.” Doc tipped his hat to both royals before following Wynonna out the door.

“What do you need me to do?” General Nedley asked.

“I know you’ve already increased security, maintain that. I also want trusted guards on the prisoner at all times, we can’t chance that James hired someone to get rid of any witnesses.”

“Done. Do you want me to have Chrissy bring back the twins?”

“Yes.”

“No.” Waverly answered at the same time. Nicole looked at her with confusion. “Tell her to give us ten more minutes and then return.”

“Waverly—” The omega cut her off by covering her mouth with her hand.

“Nedley, go.” The man seemed to understand and gave a bow before leaving. “I know you want to see our pups, I want to see them too, but you are upset right now. You need to calm down before they come back.” Nicole knew her wife was right. She was still shaking with anger, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. She pulled away and resumed her earlier pacing. Her alpha was pushing at the surface, fighting to break something. Waverly let her go.

“Yeah, I’m angry! He tried to kill our pups, Waverly! Our pups!” The redhead was shouting. Not at her wife, but at the situation. Waverly seemed to understand.

“I know, and we’re going to take care of that. We’re going to make sure they’re safe.” Waverly spoke softly, trying to calm Nicole down.

“But they were right there! They were in their room! Natalie is dead! Three guards are dead! It was too close.”

“You’re right. It was too close. But we know better now. Nedley has increased security.”

“I just—they were supposed to be safe, Waverly! I was supposed to make them safe. Now some asshole who has a grudge against me has targeted them! I failed them!”

“No!” Waverly rushed over and took Nicole’s face in her hands. “You did not fail them. If you hadn’t realized something was wrong then they—they would be dead, Nicole. You saved them.” Nicole still didn’t fully believe her wife. She knew that she had saved the twins, but it shouldn’t have gotten that close. The assassins shouldn’t have been able to get that close to her pups.

“But—”

“No buts. You are not responsible for every little thing that happens here. You’re not responsible for guard postings, Nedley’s not responsible for how the guards react or do their job, the guards who died were not responsible for those evil men’s actions. It’s not all on you.” Nicole rested her forehead on Waverly’s. One hand went to her wife’s waist while the other went to her stomach.

“If anything had happened to the twins, to you, to this pup,” Nicole stroked Waverly’s stomach with her thumb to emphasize her point. “I wouldn’t have survived. My heart would still be beating but it would be broken in pieces.”

“I know, but nothing happened, and nothing is going to happen. You’ll make sure we’re safe. Nedley will make sure we’re safe. Franklin James won’t get to us.” Nicole slightly nodded her head. They were silent for a minute.

“What about my eyes?” Nicole finally whispered. “The gold eyes. We still don’t know what that is. What if I hurt you or the pups next time? What if the next time I lose control I kill an innocent person?”

“I don’t think you’ll hurt us. Both times it happened was when you were protecting us. You calmed down when you saw me.”

“But the first time it went away on its own. This time you had to intervene before I killed innocent people.”

“The first time the threat was gone. Willa was dead. The second time one of the threats was still alive. That’s why you hadn’t calmed down yet.”

“We don’t know that. We don’t _know_ anything. Waverly… that’s terrifying.” The alpha whined as her omega stroked her cheek, trying to comfort her.

“I know. But I’ll resume my research on it. We’ll figure it out.” They stood like that another couple minutes before they heard a knock on the door. The couple turned towards the sound.

“Enter!” Nicole called out after clearing her throat. The door opened and their two little toddlers waddled into the room, followed by Chrissy.

“Mama! Mommy!” The twins shouted as they ran to their mothers. Nicole scooped up Winnie as Waverly lifted Nate.

“Hi, my babies.” Nicole smiled as she kissed Winnie on the head. “Did you guys have fun with Chrissy?”

“Yeah!” Winnie cheered; Nate just nodded his head.

“Thanks for watching them, Chrissy.” Waverly acknowledged.

“Of course, I love spending time with these guys.” The blond tickled Nate’s stomach, causing the little boy to giggle and squirm. “You need anything, let me know.”

“We will,” Nicole accepted. “We always know we can trust them with you.”

“Good. Now, I should probably get back to work. Wouldn’t want the Head Alpha to get upset.”

“But that’s Mommy?” Winnie questioned. The adults laughed and Chrissy walked over to the little girl.

“You’re right, Mommy is the Head Alpha. You are so smart.” Chrissy kissed Winnie on the cheek as the little girl beamed at the praise.

“Hey!” Nate said, offended. “Me too!” Chrissy chuckled and gave Nate a kiss as well.

“There you go, little guy. See you both soon.” Chrissy waved at the kids before she left. The couple brought the pups back over to the bed where their toys were.

“Now, where were we? Waverly asked.


	4. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Franklin James is captured and Nicole confronts him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is violence in this chapter. It's a short part of the chapter, but it's pretty violent. Just be warned.

It had been a month since they had found out Franklin James was responsible for the attack on the castle. Since then, Waverly and Nicole had gotten more comfortable not constantly being with their pups, but they only trusted the twins with limited people. Dolls had returned and it was decided that he would stay until James was found. They received weekly reports from Doc and Wynonna about the progress of the search. Last week, they received a letter that informed them that he had been found and they were bringing him back to the castle. A wave of relief had washed over the whole castle, it felt like it was easier to breathe. But Waverly was still worried about Nicole.

On the outside she was supportive of her wife, but on the inside she was really worried about the gold eyes. She truly believed that Nicole would never hurt her or the pups, but she was scared that she might hurt other people. She knew that would destroy her wife, and she didn’t want to lose her. She had resumed her research of the gold eyes and red wolves in general. There wasn’t a lot of information, and the information that was there was mostly summaries about their enhanced powers and what they could do. There was basically no information about why that was true. The information she did find talked about a long-lost civilization. Based on the information she collected she believed that they would’ve been located in The Burning Steppes, which is luckily within Caiden’s territory. The only problem is that no one goes there. Nothing lives there. No animals. No plants. Nothing. It was too hot and there was no water. Still, she thought it warranted a visit. Nicole agreed.

Right now, she was in the courtyard with the twins and Chrissy. Nicole had been allowed back to work again a week and a half ago, so the redhead was busy trying to catch up with everything. As she helped Winnie and Nate weave flower crowns, she heard shouting at the front gate. She turned and saw them opening it up, and a flurry of horses and wagons came through the entrance. She instantly recognized her sister’s and Doc’s horses. They were back. She turned to Chrissy, whose face of surprise probably reflected her own.

“You go, I’ll watch the pups.” Chrissy told her. Waverly nodded and kissed both of the twins before running to the throne room. When she got there, she saw it was full of guards, probably preparing for the entrance of a man who had tried to kill their alpha.

“What are you doing here?” Waverly turned and saw her wife looking at her. Nicole must have gotten word because instead of the simpler circlet she usually wore while doing official business, she was wearing one of her more pronounced crowns. One that she had previous worn during the trials of the men and women who had assisted or actively participated in King Marcus’s abuse.

“I saw Wynonna and Doc’s return. Why do you think I’m here?”

“You shouldn’t have come, Wave. I don’t want you in the same room as him.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I’m going to be here. He tried to kill our pups!”

“Exactly! And I’m guessing you were next on that list! I don’t want him anywhere near you!”

“Well, too bad. Because I’m not leaving. I want to see him. I want to hear what he has to say for himself.” Nicole sighed and Waverly knew she had won.

“Fine, but I want you to stay up by the thrones. Don’t go anywhere near him. Okay?”

“Understood.” Waverly agreed and went to her throne next to Nicole’s. She sat down. Nicole followed suit in her own throne.

“If you ever want to leave, then you can.” Nicole told her.

“I know, but I want to be here.” Nicole nodded and leaned back. They stayed there for another half hour before Wynonna and Doc were announced. The royal couple sat up straight as the doors were opened. Wynonna and Doc entered first, followed by two soldiers dragging in a dirty and chained up Franklin James.

“Queen Nicole and Queen Waverly, may I present the prisoner we promised you. Franklin James.” Doc motioned to the man behind them with an outstretched hand that also held his hat. James was pushed onto the floor in front of them. Nicole stood out of her seat and walked down the few steps to stand right in front of him.

“Franklin James, it’s been a while.”

“That’s Lord James to you!” The dirty man on the floor sneered.

“Actually, it’s not. I took that title from you, remember?”

“How could I forget? You threw your weight around. Tearing down families that were there for the founding of Caiden.”

“Families that were guilty of atrocious crimes. And I think you’ll find that only two families were completely stripped of their title and lands. Others had to have a change in power while others had been loyal to me from the beginning. But there was no way that I could trust you or your son.”

“What son? The man that you tossed in the dungeon and forgot about? Hadn’t he been punished enough?”

“Punished enough!” Waverly watched as Nicole lunged at the man and grabbed him by the throat. She sat up straighter and leaned forward, worried about her wife’s next move. “He tried to rape my wife! My mate! The mother of my pups!”

“That bitch wasn’t any of those things at the time. She was just a warm body in your bed. Sucking you off every night. You just didn’t want to share.” The man choked out; he was obviously struggling to get the words out, but was refusing to back down.

“Nicole.” There was warning in Wynonna’s voice. That made Waverly even more worried. _What had Wynonna seen that I can’t from this angle?_ Nicole pushed the man away from her and straightened back up. James was coughing on the floor.

“That’s my wife and your Queen that you are talking about. You show her some respect.” The redhead spat.

“I won’t show that omega any respect.” Nicole turned around and started pacing. Waverly knew her wife was mad, but that the omega shouldn’t do anything yet. Her wife was calming herself down before questioning him. Finally, she took a deep breath and turned back to James.

“I had three assassins in my pups’ bedroom a few weeks ago.”

“How unfortunate,” He rolled his eyes. “Why does that concern me?”

“Two were killed but one survived. After interrogation he named you as their benefactor.”

“Me? With what money? You took everything!”

“I’m sure you kept some things. A ring here, and necklace there. Probably enough to pay some men to try and kill my family.”

“Try? You said they were in the pups’ room.”

“And they were killed before they touched my pups.” Waverly saw the man deflate, she felt anger rising in her gut. He was actually disappointed that two three-year-olds weren’t dead. “I know you hired them.”

“You don’t know shit!”

“You have the motive. I’m sure you still have some means, plus some connections from when you worked for my father.”

“Motive?” Nicole kneeled down in front of the man.

“Your son. Hardy James. I made sure he was humiliated in front of the whole court. I made sure he was punished for his actions when my father would have let him get away with it.” The brunette saw the man’s hands clench. He was shaking in anger. “Then, when I rose to power, I made sure he was punished even more. After putting him through all of that. I still threw him in the dungeon. A pup for a pup. An heir for an heir.” Franklin James lunged at Nicole. The redhead didn’t move, she stood there as the nearby soldiers grabbed the man before he reached her.

“You’re damn right you deserve it! You deserve to lose everything just like I did! Your pups! Your whore!”

“So you admit it?”

“Yeah! And don’t think that I’ll stop. Even if you throw me away with my son, I’ll get you! I’ll make sure every pup you have dies! I’ll make sure that your omega bitch dies as she chokes on her own blood!” Waverly knew the moment something had shifted. The air in the room changed. Her sister and Doc pulled out their swords as they looked at Nicole with slight alarm. Her mate’s emotions went from frustrated and upset to pure anger. Nicole’s posture became more hunched over, she was shaking and every muscle was tense. One second Franklin James was standing there, a soldier on each arm. The next, he was gurgling blood which dribbled out of his mouth, more pouring out of a hole in his chest. His eyes were wide with shock and pain as he choked on the blood coming out of his mouth. After a few seconds, the man slumped over, dead. Nicole had his heart in her hand, blood covering her hand and wrist. By now all the soldiers had their swords out, none of them sure what was happening. Nicole squeezed the heart until it was just red mush in her hands and let out a loud howl as she did.

“Nicole!” Waverly shouted as she stood up. The redhead turned sharply, facing her wife. Waverly looked right into the gold eyes that stared back at her. “You need to calm down.” The gold eyes stayed for another minute, before they melted away, leaving behind Nicole’s perfect brown eyes. As they turned brown, she saw Nicole come back to her. The redhead started shaking again. But this time, the only emotion she felt coming from her wife was fear. Nicole slowly turned back around at what she had done. The crushed-up heart fell from her hand when she saw him.

“What did I do?” Nicole whispered, but Waverly heard. The brunette rushed down the steps and went in front of her wife. Nicole’s face was horrified. Waverly tried to block her view of the mangled man, but Nicole couldn’t tear her eyes away. “Waverly, what’s wrong with me?”

“Everyone out!” Waverly shouted. The soldiers hesitated, none of them sure if that was a good idea. “I said out! And take him with you!” At that, they started to put away their swords and made their way out of the room. A few went to the body and carried it out with them. The only ones left were Nicole, her, Wynonna, and Doc.

“It’s getting worse, Waverly.”

“No, it’s not. You didn’t even attempt to hurt anyone innocent this time.”

“But it took longer for it to leave.” That worried her as well. From what Nicole had told her, the gold eyes had left almost immediately after Willa died. Then the time in the twin’s room it had taken only a few seconds after the redhead saw her. This time, it had taken over a minute since she saw Waverly for the eyes to go away.

“We’ll figure it out.” Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole. The redhead collapsed into her mate’s embrace; they fell to the ground together. Nicole’s head went into the crook of her neck and Waverly felt the tears on her skin.


End file.
